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| Solutions for Our Times |
For further information and to receive complete copies of any of the white papers you see here, Contact Al Uretsky, Managing Partner Estrella Partners Group, LLC Tel.: (623) 594-9283 auretsky@estrellapartners.com |
| Program Management Office, A term not fully understood. By Al Uretsky Managing Partner Introduction The term Program Management Office, also commonly abbreviated to PMO, has been around for some time now, even before it became a popular buzz word during the Year2000 era. None the less, the core concepts, methods, and benefits remain constant for the most part while the variable over the years primarily tend to be in the area of resources and tools. The term program office itself has meant different things to different people and organizations. The lack of understanding of what a program office is and when it should be leveraged is often the most common pitfall and reason for failure. Programs come in many forms from Enterprise-wide, departmental, and special-purpose. Our definition of a Program Office is a supporting organization established for the purpose of providing project management expertise to facilitate a collective group of related projects within a specified parameter. Operating under a single charter defined by consistent standards and procedures PMOs relate to core project management guidelines, with the ultimate objective of achieving project delivery excellence. Program offices leverage economies of scale to manage project governance, standardize documentation, streamline communications, define and track metrics, and critical success indicators. They ensure stakeholder sponsorship and reporting, and other key components to drive increased quality and operational efficiencies. In order to do so, this process needs to remain flexible, leveraging elements of consultancy best practices in project / program management and clients internal processes, procedures, and resources, thus resulting in a unique customized solution refined for a specific situation and environment. A majority of project offices created in the past 2-5 years were looking to achieve increase project delivery success, increase their alignment between technology and business departments, improve their strategic goals, increase cost efficiency, and focus on core project management areas of scheduling, project financials, scope creep, and project resources. The Problem Most common reason for failure is not taking the time to establish a clear understanding of Program Office concepts, defined goals and objectives, and devising a strategic direction with executive sponsorship. Organizations around the world continue to self define, borrow and collect, what they believe to be best practices among crowded and sometimes difficult portfolios to determine what truly is trial and error vs. best of breed. Firms are increasingly establishing Program Offices to influence and drive leadership and organizational improvement, yet 90% of projects still do not meet time/cost/quality targets. There are many reasons for such failures and technology is not the most critical cause, but rather poorly defined goals and objectives, inadequate project management implementation, lack of communication, unfamiliarity with scope and complexity, and executive management buy-in. Most project failures are due to lack of and/or improper implementation of project management methodologies. The benefits of a well structured and strong performing Program Office is an organization that operates more efficiently with a reduced level of risk. This leads to potential cost savings, increased project success rate, increased level of staff satisfaction, identification of potential revenue opportunities, and increased benefits realization. For further information and to receive complete copies of any of the white papers you see here, contact Al Uretsky. |